View: The $680 million question of what Anil Ambani knew

Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Asia’s richest man, faces a $680 million legal test to answer one and only one question: Just what did he know about what his employees were doing on his behalf? Other Indian tycoons will take an abiding interest in his defense.

The $680 million is the amount Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) is seeking to recover from the former Indian billionaire by invoking what they say is a personal guarantee he gave in 2012 to secure a $925 million loan for Reliance Communications LtdNSE 5.56 %., his mobile services firm that’s now in bankruptcy. Ambani, whose older sibling Mukesh controls Reliance Industries LtdNSE 0.11 %., India’s most valuable company, claims he never knowingly provided any guarantee.